


ZaDR - Homecoming

by SpyroForLife



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Dancing, Fluff, Homecoming, M/M, ZaDr, three part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-21
Updated: 2012-07-21
Packaged: 2017-11-10 09:39:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/464847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpyroForLife/pseuds/SpyroForLife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a three-part ZaDR fanfic in which Zim and Dib attend their first homecoming together. Needless to say, they have a good time dancing and just being together. Not only that, but they had decided to run for homecoming king and king. Will they win? We'll have to see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Campaigning?

      Dib paused as he read the bulletin board near the school's front door.

      "What're you reading?" the familiar voice said from behind him.

      Without turning around, Dib reached back with an arm and pulled Zim toward him, holding him close. "Just looking to see if there are any new announcements."

      Surprised but pleased at finding himself this close to his human, Zim stretched up onto the tips of his toes so he could rest his head against Dib's shoulder, reading the board too. "Hey, look!" He pointed at a bright flyer. "All applicants for homecoming king and queen need to talk to the principal before January 10th!"

      "So?" Dib had no clue why Zim would bring that up.

      "So we should go for it!"

      "Zim... we're both males."

      "So? We can be homecoming king and king!"

      "I don't think they do that."

      "We can ask."

      "Well... okay, I suppose it's worth asking. It's ten minutes until the first bell. Do you think that's enough?"

      "Of course it is. Let's go." Zim grabbed his wrist and dragged him through the hall.

      When they reached the office, they had to wait for a couple in front of them to finish putting their names down as candidates.

      "Gretchen?" Dib asked in mild surprise when the girl turned around.

      "Oh, hi Dib," she replied shyly. She used to have a crush on him, but he was never interested, so she was forced to move on.

      "Keef?" Zim asked in amazement. "You're with Gretchen?"

      "Yeah, I have been since last year... I thought I told you," Keef said, his tone just as happy as it's always been.

      "Oh, sorry, must have forgotten. Well, we have business to attend to in here, so good luck." Zim managed to pat the boy on the shoulder without cringing.

      "Thanks buddy!" Keef hugged him.

      Zim stiffened and slowly pulled away, not wanting to hurt his feelings but also not wanting to touch him.

      "See ya later!" Keef took Gretchen's hand and scurried out with her.

      Dib let out a sigh of relief and stepped up to the secretary's desk. "We have a question about homecoming."

      "What is it?" the secretary replied.

      Dib couldn't quite figure out how he should word his question, so Zim did it for him. "Will we be able to run as homecoming kings?" he asked.

      "Um... you mean the two of you together, or...?" The secretary seemed confused at this question.

      Zim rolled his eyes and pulled Dib toward him with an arm, keeping it around his waist. "I mean that Dib and I want to run for homecoming king and king. Are we allowed to do that?"

      It finally clicked in the lady's brain. She blushed a bit at the realization that the two seniors in front of her were gay, but she kept her cool. "You'd have to talk to the principal about that. He's free right now, so go on in." She waved a hand to the nearby door marked with a plaque that read, 'Mr. Don: Principal.'

      Zim squared his shoulders and marched for the door. Dib followed, his posture much more anxious. He wasn't as good at hiding his emotions as Zim was.

      Zim knocked a few times.

      "Enter," Mr. Don called.

      Zim opened the door. "Hello, Mr. Don!"

      The man sighed. "What did you do this time?"

      "What? Oh, no, I'm here with Dib to ask you a question," Zim replied quickly.

      Mr. Don looked between the two of them, an eyebrow raised. As a man who kept track of all goings-on in the school, including gossip, he's heard a lot about them. Their total disregard for other's opinions of them impressed him, but he still found their relationship strange. "And what question would that be?" he inquired.

      "Well, homecoming is coming up," Zim said. Dib decided to just let him do the talking and instead looked around the room curiously, keeping one ear on the conversation. "We were just wondering if we were allowed to run. Except we would be kings, instead of a king and queen. Is that allowed?"

      Dib slowly looked back at Mr. Don as the man considered the question. "I've never heard of it being done before, and especially not at my school."

      Dib could sense the irken's disappointment, though he hid it well. "Oh. I see." Zim glanced at Dib. "I guess we can't."

      "Wait, I don't remember saying 'no'," Mr. Don said, smiling.

      Zim perked up. If he hadn't been wearing a wig, his antennae would probably be standing up with interest and excitement. "Sir?"

      "I'd be honored to have you two as the first candidates for homecoming king and king. I think it'd be a good message for everyone here about acceptance. A message of love and how it has no boundaries."

      "Absolutely none," Zim agreed, putting an arm around Dib's shoulders and grinning at him. The fact that he was an alien made the description even more accurate. Dib smiled, catching onto the joke.

      "So boys, if you're sure you want to run, then sign these papers." Mr. Don started rummaging through the stacks of paper on his desk before extracting two forms, passing them over.

      The two quickly filled them out and signed them. Zim made sure he ended his signature with a fancy flourish. He might have underlined it too, but Dib took it from him and gave it to the principal along with his paper.

      Zim gave him an annoyed look.

      "Good luck, then, boys," Mr. Don said. That was their cue to leave.

      "Thanks," Dib said gratefully. "This means a lot to us."

      Mr. Don acknowledged his thanks with a courteous nod. They left the office and headed for homeroom as the first bell rang, warning everyone that they had five minutes to get to class. In the hall, there was the sound of running and lockers slamming closed.

      Zim and Dib took their usual seats near the front left side of the classroom, sitting next to each other.

      "We should get started on our campaign," Dib said. "We gotta make posters, announce it to the senior class, and so on."

      "Leave it to me," Zim said. He went up to ask the teacher if he could make an announcement while everyone was in here and before they left for first period. She agreed and he returned to his desk.

      After a few minutes, everyone was seated and waiting for the morning announcements. Zim grabbed Dib and pulled him up to the front. Everyone ignored them and continued talking.

      "Excuse me!" Zim called. A few people shifted their attention to him. He waved his arms. "Hey! Zim has an announcement! Pay attention!"

      "Class, listen to what he has to say," the teacher, Mrs. Brigs, snapped. "He said it's very important."

      The students decided to straighten up and give Zim their undivided attention.

      Zim gave her a thankful nod and spread his arms dramatically. "Classmates! Fellow students I've known since fifth grade! Dib and I have something to tell you!" He looked at Dib in case he wanted to take it from here, but Dib was busy staring at his shoelace, so he continued. "We talked to the principal earlier and signed some papers. And now we're running for homecoming king and king!"

      Everyone laughed, cheered, and applauded them.

      "Good luck, guys!" Zita called.

      "I knew it!" Sara laughed. "You have my vote!"

      "Yeah, you two are so cute together," Aki agreed.

      "You guys are hardcore," Chunk said. "I wouldn't have the guts to do what you did."

      "Yeah, if I were in a homosexual relationship, I'd try to hide it," Poonchy said, then sank down in his seat slightly.

      A few more congratulations were called. Zim accepted them with a smile and a few bows, then took his seat again. Dib sat down next to him. "That was embarrassing," he muttered.

      "I think it went well," Zim replied.

      Soon, the bell rang and announcements started. Everyone was told to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance. When they sat down, a female voice came over the speakers to announce today's lunch, a reminder to get physicals for spring sports, and then talking about homecoming.

      "Please be reminded that all applicants for king and queen must sign up before the tenth and they must be seniors," the girl concluded. "Hope you have a wonderful day." She got quiet and the speakers buzzed slightly as she put the mic down and it was turned off. Then the bell rang and everyone left for first period.

      "I'm going to get started on the rough draft of our poster," Zim said, taking out a piece of paper and drawing on it as they sat down in their Advanced Calculus class.

      "Yeah, have fun with that." Dib was nervous about this, but it was worth a shot. Besides, maybe they could win. It was a small hope, but a hope nonetheless.

      "We'll win," Zim assured him, patting his arm. "I'll make sure of it."

      "I hope so."

 

      It wasn't long before Zim managed to make several colorful posters imploring other students to vote for them. They were decorated with crowns that had been drawn and colored with incredible care. Each had a slogan across the bottom: "Because love is love no matter who it's with."

      Dib found it incredibly sweet by Zim's standards. When he asked him about it, the irken simply shrugged and replied that he spoke only the truth. Then he had kissed his boyfriend gently in the middle of the hall and gone off to pin up the posters in random places throughout the school where everyone would see them. Since they had a head start, they were able to get good areas, such as in the lunch room, next to each of the bathrooms, and even next to the gym doors.

      "Where should we put the last one?" Zim asked, showing Dib a poster much like the others, done on purple poster board and with a few stickers along with its drawings; GIR's handiwork.

      "In the freshmen's hallway," Dib decided.

      Zim snickered. "Yes, we shall corrupt their innocent little minds. They'll be so appalled. It'll be hilarious." The two went together to the hallway with all the freshman classes, putting the sign between the boy bathroom and the girl bathroom, over the water fountain. "There we go."

      A passing freshman stopped and looked at them with wonder. "Are you seniors?" he asked.

      Zim nodded. "Yep. Just putting up our last homecoming poster." He tapped it. "Vote for us."

      "Wait... you two are running together?"

      "Yes."

      "As in... as boyfriend and... boyfriend?"

      "Exactly."

      The freshman boy backed away. "Oh. Um... okay then..." Then he rushed off to class without another word.

      Zim and Dib glanced at each other, and then burst out laughing. "I love it when they run away like that!" Zim said.

      "Yeah, they always seem so surprised when we tell them about us," Dib agreed. "Now if they had grown up with us, like the other seniors, then they wouldn't even pay attention."

      "I know, right?" Zim pulled him down to kiss him for a few moments. When he pulled back, he said, "Now that we're done, let's go get some lunch. We're having pizza today."

      "Race ya."

      "You're on!"

      They raced for the cafeteria.


	2. Homecoming Winners

      A few weeks passed, and soon, it was time to vote for homecoming king and queen. Dib managed to convince Zim that they should vote for someone other than themselves, since that wasn't very modest. After much deliberation, they agreed to cast both of their votes on Zita and her boyfriend. Dib even managed to keep Zim from demanding to know who voted for him afterward.

      The day of the dance came. Since they were candidates, they had to go to all of the events before the actual dance, such as the pep rally, basketball, and football games. Though they weren't interested in sports, they agreed anyway. They didn't have much choice, and besides, the pep rally might be fun. It was where the king and queen would be crowned.

      "Or king and king," Zim reminded Dib as they walked to the gym. They were already wearing their semi-formal clothes, having changed right after their last class.

      "Or king and king," Dib agreed. They entered the gym. Since they were candidates, they had their own area where they were supposed to stand. They greeted the others politely and talked quietly while waiting for the pep rally to start.

      Mr. Don finally stepped up to the mic. "Welcome to the homecoming pep rally!"

      Everyone cheered.

      "What was that?" he asked, holding his hand up to his ear.

      Almost the entire student body and the entire faculty were packed into the gym. Therefore, the resulting roar was almost deafening.

      "Oh, okay. I didn't hear you the first time," Mr. Don laughed. "We're going to have a great night. After we choose the homecoming king and queen, we'll move on to our football and basketball games, and then the dance. So without further ado… let the pep rally commence!"

      The rally went on for almost half an hour, and everyone managed to scream themselves hoarse to the different prompts they were given. The cheerleaders performed and led them through several different chants. The band came in and played to much applause. Overall, they had a great time.

      "Okay, everyone, calm down," Mr. Don called through the mic. Everyone got quiet except for the occasional cough and clearing of throats. There was a honk as a tuba was cleared, then silence. "I think I need to officially announce each of our candidates for king and queen."

      Zim couldn't help but cough loudly, drawing the principal's attention.

      "Ah, yes. I'm sure you've realized by now, but we also have candidates for king and king. These two have been together since their sophomore year," Mr. Don said, nodding to Zim and Dib. They waved awkwardly. "Would you like to say anything, boys?"

      "Of course." Zim took the microphone and said, "I'd just like to say that even though we're both males, that's no reason why we don't deserve love too. We finally found someone who understands us and wants to be with us. And that's reason enough to be together." He threw his arms in the air. "Love has no boundaries!"

      His little speech met loud cheering and clapping.

      Zim bowed and gave the microphone to Dib. "Dib, go ahead and say something. Address the masses!"

      "I'm not much of a public speaker and they've already cast their vote, so it's not like I can change their minds… oh, screw it. Hi, everyone. Um… I agree fully with Zim, our love is just as special as Gretchen and Keef's, or Zita and Brian's... And to those of you who did vote for us, thank you." He nodded, feeling his cheeks burning at speaking in public like this, and handed the mic to Mr. Don.

      The man smiled and said, "Thank you for those inspirational words, you two. Would any of the other candidates like to say anything?"

      Once everyone was done saying something to the students, Mrs. Ben, the vice principal, approached with an envelope and handed it to him. He opened it and pulled out a small card. "And the homecoming winners are..." He paused for dramatic effect. No one breathed. A pencil clattered from someone's purse, unnaturally loud in the silence. Zim grabbed Dib's arm tightly, waiting expectantly. Then: "Zim Nekri and Dib Membrane!"

      The roar of approval was instantaneous. Everyone was immediately on their feet, clapping and hollering, pumping their fists in the air.

      Dib stood there in a daze. He barely registered Zim shaking him happily and shouting, "We won! Dib, we won!"

      He shook his head and looked down at the irken in a numb sort of delight. "Oh, yeah. We did, didn't we?"

      "I always knew we would!" Zim wrapped him into a tight hug. Someone approached with the crowns and he looked them over. "Give Dib the queen one." He smiled and accepted the larger of the crowns while Dib took the other and put it on his head.

      "We had two homecoming king banners made just in case," Mr. Don said, putting them around the shoulders of the two. They adjusted them and read the titles with pride.

      "This has renewed my faith in humanity," Dib said.

      Zim nodded. "Yes, it is rather incredible that they would accept us like this." He took the microphone and called for everyone's attention. They got quiet and listened. "Thanks to everyone who voted for us! You have no idea how much this means to us!"

      "And to the other candidates, thanks for running," Dib added. "You were all great."

      "So thanks for voting us as the first ever king and king!" Zim went on, pacing in front of the bleachers. "I promise we will be very good kings."

      "Why don't you tell us all why you wanted to run," Mr. Don said.

      "Well it's simple," Zim replied. "I love my Dib and figured we had just as much right to run for homecoming… kings as any boyfriend and girlfriend. Love shouldn't have boundaries! Am I right?"

      Everyone cheered in response.

      "So we decided to go for it. And I'm glad we did."

      Dib couldn't help but admire how calm Zim was addressing the entire student body like this. Then again, the irken always did love publicity.

      "As many of the seniors should know, when I first moved here in the fifth grade, Dib and I were always fighting." Zim grinned at the memories. "He actually used to think I was an alien! Can you believe that?"

      Everyone laughed, even Dib.

      "Oh yeah. Alien scum," Dib said teasingly. They both chuckled.

      "All throughout that year and middle school we fought," Zim went on. "And it seemed we could never be friends. I'm still not sure what happened between us, but during our freshman year, we just stopped the fighting. There was no point anymore. No one would believe him. So… there are a lot of personal reasons we ended up together, but I don't want to talk about those."

      Dib took the microphone. "Also, we realized we're a lot alike. Again, most of that's personal, but believe us, we're like clones."

      Zim snorted in laughter.

      "What?" Dib asked. Then he remembered that Zim was a clone created from the combined DNA of probably thousands of other irkens, and Dib himself is a clone of his father. "Oh, yeah." They both laughed at the private joke. When they managed to quiet down, Dib said, "Anyway, we grew to really like each other once we stopped trying to kill each other. Friendship became love… and here we are." It was by no means a well-thought-out speech, but there were claps and nods of approval nonetheless.

      "I couldn't have said it better myself!" Zim stole the mic back. "Once again, thank you, everyone!"

      Mr. Don took the mic. "Well then, now that we have our kings, why don't we start our first homecoming game? If you would all follow us out to the football field in an orderly fashion…"

      Everyone got to their feet and raced down the bleachers, scrambling for the back door. Zim and Dib went out first with Mr. Don and the others that had tried for homecoming king and queen. They talked energetically and laughed together as they approached the nearby football field, with hundreds of students of all grades following behind them.

      "Come on Dib, strut," Zim said encouragingly. "We're the most important people in the school right now! Watch, do as I do." He swaggered over to the outside bleachers and sat down on the first one, right behind the home team bench. Dib shook his head and smiled, sitting next to him. It was a little chilly out already, so he put his arms around Zim for warmth.

      With a quiet purr that no one else would be able to hear, Zim leaned closer to him. "I wish you had your trench coat," he said regretfully.

      "Yeah, me too," Dib replied. "Unfortunately, it's not formal enough."

      "Stupid rules."

      "Hey, where's your homecoming king and queen?" someone from the rival school yelled.

      Zim pulled Dib up and shouted, "The _kings_ are right here!" He pointed at their crowns and banners.

      Laughter erupted from across the field. Dib grabbed Zim's arms before he could run over there.

      "Zim, calm down, they're not worth it!" Dib said, trying to wrestle Zim back into his seat.

      Zim sat down with a huff of annoyance. "They're just jealous."

      "Of course they are. Just ignore them." Dib sat next to him and resumed holding him.

      The football game started and the other school quickly stopped laughing at them and instead started screaming at their team to make a touchdown.

      Zim stood up and laughed maniacally as Chunk tackled the other team's quarterback and knocked the ball out of their hand. Torque caught it and ran for the touchdown line. "That sure showed them!" he shouted. "Go Torque! Run! RUN!"

      "Hey Gay and Gayer," a female voice said from next to them.

      "Oh, hey Gaz!" Dib scooted over so his sister could sit down next to him. "Since when do you like watching football?"

      "I don't. But I do want to go to the dance and I want someone to talk to until then."

      "Which one of us is gay and which is gayer?" Zim asked, leaning forward so he could see her.

      She looked between them, tapping on her chin as she considered, and finally said, "Dib's the gayer one."

      "Ha!" Zim pointed at him mockingly.

      "Didn't expect you two to win," Gaz said. She watched the game for a moment as Torque managed to score the touchdown. She waited for the resulting roar of the crowd to die down before going on, "I was pretty surprised."

      "Did you vote for us?" Dib asked.

      Gaz nodded. "Only because there wasn't anyone else I wanted to win."

      "Aw." Dib reached to hug her.

      She grabbed his shoulders and held him back. "I don't think so."

      He kept trying to hug her, though. With a sigh, she let go of him and said, "Okay, fine."

      He smiled and embraced her. "Have I ever told you you're my favorite little sister?"

      "I'm your only little sister," she replied, looking away to hide her smile.

      "Are you going with anyone to the dance?" Dib asked.

      Gaz shook her head. "No, but I do like dark places with music."

      "I'll find someone for you to dance with," Dib promised her. They looked back at the field as their team got another touchdown.

      Zim stood up on the bleachers and pumped his fist in the air. "YEAH, GET SOME!"

      Dib pulled lightly on his elbow and sat him down again.

      "Our team is amazing," Zim commented, grinning as someone on the opposing team got tackled.

      "Yeah, it is. I still don't like football that much," Dib replied.

      "Me neither. I'm only watching it for the tackling and other bodily harm. HA!" Zim pointed and laughed at a pile-up that foiled the away team's attempt to get some points.

      When the game finally ended, the other school was looking pretty depressed. They had lost horribly. The two teams shook hands in a show of good sportsmanship, but when they separated to go back to the locker room, the home team was snickering and high-fiving each other.

      "Well, the basketball game is next," Mr. Don said, standing up.

      Zim and Dib got up too and followed him, Gaz right behind them. And behind her were the other couples. Then the entire school.

      Their team also managed to successfully win the basketball team. By the time the rival school left, they were all miserable.

      "Better luck at _your_ homecoming, losers!" Zim shouted as they got on their buses or in their cars. Then he grabbed Dib's arm proudly and pulled him into the gym, paying the entrance fee for the dance and going in. The slow music would come later. Right now it was dim and Lady Gaga's Poker Face was playing.

      "Don't look straight at the strobe lights or they might blind you," Dib teased. He was referring the first homecoming dance they ever went to, back in their sophomore year. Zim had made the mistake of looking at a strobe light and then screaming in pain as it hurt his sensitive eyes.

      Zim rolled his eyes. "Zim learned his lesson two years ago." He grabbed Dib's hands. "Now dance with me!"

      "Ugh. Fine."

      They danced together for a few minutes. When the song was over, they separated and went to sit down on the bleachers, watching everyone else instead.

      A few feet away, they saw Keef dancing energetically with Gretchen. Zita was being spun around several times by Brian. Jessica was hanging off of Chunk's arm and praising him endlessly for all the touchdowns he had scored earlier.

      Gaz was standing alone watching everyone.

      "Your sister's alone," Zim said, nudging Dib and pointing.

      Dib looked over at her. "Well, she's pretty scary. I don't blame everyone for staying away from her."

      "Still, it's kind of sad. She should have someone."

      "Maybe a freshman that doesn't know any better will ask her. And maybe she won't kill them in response," Dib suggested.

      Zim shook his head. "I have a better idea." He stood up. "Be right back."

      Dib leaned back and watched Zim go talk to her. The music was too loud for him to hear what he was saying even though he was only ten feet away. He tried to read their lips, but the darkness made that difficult.

      Then Zim held his hand out. After a brief hesitation, Gaz took it, smiling a little. Dib sat up all the way, watching with surprise as Zim led her to a more open part of the dance floor and started teaching her a fast-paced irken dance.

      Dib recognized it; Zim had taught it to him two years ago. He watched with amusement as Gaz picked up on it quickly and was soon twirling and weaving around the irken, feet barely touching the ground. Zim was doing the same, quick-stepping around her and sometimes spinning her. Both were grinning.

      The dance was meant to be fun as well as an exercise. It worked the legs and upper body and developed flexibility.

      By the time the three minute song was done, Gaz was sweating and panting, while Zim looked slightly tired.

      "Want some water?" he asked.

            She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and nodded. "Sure." They headed toward the front of the gym, where the concession stand was.


	3. Final Dance

     "That was actually kinda fun," Gaz said, referring to their earlier dance.

      "Yeah, I like it," Zim agreed.

      "Kinda makes you tired, though." Her hand was pressed to her chest as she took in deep breaths.

      "It's supposed to. It's an exercise as well as a dance."

      "No kidding."

      "One bottle of water," Zim said to the lady in the concession stand. She fished one out of the ice-filled cooler and set it on the counter.

      "One dollar," she said.

      Zim dug a dollar bill out of her pocket and gave it to her, then picked up the bottle. The ice-cold water clinging to its outside made him flinch as it burned his skin. He quickly handed it to Gaz and wiped his hand off on his pant leg.

      "Thanks." She twisted the lid off and drank deeply. They walked back to where Dib was sitting. "You sure Dib won't get jealous?" she asked.

      "Oh, no. It's a dance. He won't care. Dib's not the jealous type," Zim replied. "If anything, I'm the jealous one. I never like anyone near him. Like this one time, we were at a convenience store getting some soda..." He sat down next to Dib and Gaz sat on his other side. "Hey Dib, I'm telling Gaz the story of when we were at that convenience store."

      "Oh God." Dib face-palmed.

      Zim went on, "So we were at the counter paying for the sodas. The cashier was a female. I think she assumed we were just friends and decided to start flirting with my Dib."

      "What'd you do?" Gaz asked.

      "I hit her with my bottle of soda and then shoved her head through the lottery ticket rack," Zim replied.

      "Then he grabbed me and screamed about how I was his property for several minutes," Dib added. "Then Zim destroyed the security camera, hacked into the system to get the footage of us off, and we left before the police got there."

      "Sounds like a lot of fun." Gaz took another long drink of water.

      "Yeah, it was," Zim agreed.

      The current song ended and a familiar voice said, "All right, now this is something new."

      "IT'S THE CHA-CHA SLIDE!" Zim shouted, jumping up. He grabbed Dib's arm. "I love this song!"

      "Oh, yeah, me too! Let's go!" Dib ran with him to the front of the crowd of students that were now on the dance floor. Only a few people remained sitting down. Even Gaz decided to go out there.

      "This time, we're gonna get FUNKY!" the song rapped. Everyone sang along, clapping lightly to the beat and swaying from side to side. "FUNKY! Everybody clap your hands! Clap, clap, clap your hands!"

      This song was an all-time favorite at dances. Everyone's heard it since middle school. It told you exactly how to dance to it in the lyrics. And it was a lot of fun.

      "You really like this song, don't you?" Dib asked as Zim sang along to several of the lyrics.

      "Cha-cha now, y'all!" Zim replied.

      Soon, the song reached the part everybody always sings along with.

      "FREEZE!" all the students roared. "EVERYBODY CLAP YOUR HANDS!" Fast, rhythmic clapping filled the gym.

      When the song finally ended, everyone laughed and shouted, "Peace" along with the singer, many of them doing the peace sign with their hands. Then most of them sat down while some stayed on the floor to dance to the next song.

      "That was fun," Zim said, looking around as others started dancing around them.

      "Yeah, it always is. Come on, let's sit down." Dib went to sit down on the nearby bleachers. Zim sat next to him and leaned in close, putting an arm around him. He played with the homecoming king banner crossing over one of Dib's shoulders. Then he reached up to fix his crown. Dib did the same, adjusting the crown that had started to slip sideways on Zim's head.

      "Where's your sister?" Zim asked in a surprisingly calm voice. He was very relaxed right now, watching everyone dance while cuddling with his human and listening to good music.

      Dib scanned the dark gym and located her. "There she is. Dancing with some junior."

      "Huh. Unexpected, but good nonetheless. That girl needs some love." Zim rested his head against Dib's chest. "Everyone does."

      "Even us," Dib said quietly.

      Zim nodded. "Even us."

      The rest of the night passed by quickly until it was time for the final song. The lights came up. Couples that were dancing a bit inappropriately quickly jumped apart and pretended to be innocent.

      "Come on, we have to dance to this one," Zim said, standing up.

      "Okay. Let's go." The two walked to the middle of the floor.

      The song started playing.

      "Wait, I know this..." Dib said slowly.

      Zim smiled. "I sent it in. In case we won, I wanted them to play it. I thought it was really good for us." Despite being shorter, he led the slow dance, hands resting gently on Dib's waist.

      "I got a funny feeling," Toby Keith's voice sang gently over the loudspeakers. "The moment that your lips touched mine, somethin’ shot right through me... my heart skipped a beat in time..."

      "Everyone's watching us," Dib muttered, blushing a bit at the sight of everyone forming a wide circle around them, eyes on them.

      "Let them watch," Zim replied, standing taller to kiss him briefly.

      "There's a different feel about you tonight... it's got me thinking lots of crazy things... I even think I saw a flash of light... It felt like electricity..."

      Zim shifted his arms up a little bit to the middle of Dib's back, leaning in to rest his head under the boy's chin.

      Dib put an arm around Zim's waist. The other reached around his shoulder so he could rest his hand gently on his PAK. The cool metal seemed to hum under his fingertips.

      The watching crowd sighed quietly, enjoying the sweet interaction between the two as they swayed in time to the song. The chorus started.

      "You shouldn't kiss me like this, unless you mean it like that... ‘Cause I'll just close my eyes and I won’t know where I’m at... We'll get lost on this dance floor spinning around. And around, and around, and around..."

      The two almost were forgetting where they were. They didn't care that everyone else was watching them. They only cared about being together.

      "That's real love," a sophomore whispered to her friend, who nodded in agreement.

      "Yeah, being able to overlook such trivial boundaries as gender," the friend mumbled just as quietly. "I can just see the love in the way they're holding each other and in their eyes..."

      The song continued to play softly in the background. "They're all watching us now; they think we're falling in love. They'll never believe we're just friends..."

      "Falling in love?" Dib asked. "We're already in love."

      "Yeah, but songs can't be perfect," Zim replied. His eyes had fallen into a half-lidded expression, but there seemed to be a fire smoldering in their depths. Even in this slow dance, his passion for his human was evident.

      A few other couples also braved the floor, dancing near them. Keef and Gretchen were barely five yards away. Zita and her boyfriend also came a bit closer and joined in.

      When the song ended, Zim raised a hand to cup Dib's cheek, gazing at him warmly. Dib leaned him back and kissed him gently, holding his head close. His other hand slipped from his waist and simply hung at his side, but he didn't bother fixing it. To keep his balance, Zim grabbed Dib's back with the hand that wasn't resting on Dib's cheek.

      Everyone clapped lightly and cheered for them. Some of the girls even cried with joy.

      The two separated and smiled at each other.

      "Best dance of my life," Dib said quietly.

      "The best dance of your life so far," Zim corrected him, tapping his nose with a claw.

      "Your homecoming kings, everyone!" the SGA president, Willy, announced. Everyone cheered loudly.

      Mr. Don took the mic. "See, this is what love's all about. I think you all can learn from these two. Zim? Dib? Anything you'd like to say?"

      "Yeah, I want to say something." Zim accepted the mic. He gave everyone a very serious look. "I have a piece of advice for all of you. If society ever tries to tell you that your love is wrong, don't listen to them. Get in their face and refuse to conform to their standards. You're free to love whoever you want! Look at us! We're not hurting anyone! Our love is not immoral! Hear the words of Zim!" He held his arms up and loud claps came back to him.

      "You are so good at giving speeches," Dib said with a hint of jealousy.

      "I just have a talent for it," Zim replied. He returned the mic to the principal and held Dib close while the dance was officially ended. The strobe lights stopped and everything was turned off. The two of them stayed behind to help put equipment away and take down decorations.

      When they finally finished, it was around midnight. Yawning, they said goodbye to the few remaining adults and left.

      "Can you give me a ride home?" Zim asked with a yawn.

      "Sure..." Dib replied, also yawning.

      They went outside and got in his car. Zim leaned against the door, head resting against the window and eyes drifting closed. The engine started up quietly.

      "Where did Gaz go?" Zim asked tiredly, just now realizing that the girl had left as soon as the dance was over.

      "She has a car too, you know," Dib replied.

      "Oh, right... I forgot..."

      Dib drove the car out onto the road and toward Zim's house. He was so tired that his vision kept blurring and he had to blink several times to see where he was going.

      "Don't crash," Zim warned without opening his eyes, having felt the car swerve slightly as Dib avoided hitting a cat.

      "I'm not going to crash."

      They made it to Zim's house without any serious mishap.

      "I don't feel like driving all the way home from here," Dib complained as he got out and walked around to the passenger's side to hug Zim as the irken got out.

      "You can stay here, then." Zim's steps were heavy as he walked through the front lawn and opened the door.

      "Really? You don't mind?"

      "Of course not."

      Dib followed him, entering the house behind him. He watched Zim pull his disguise off and put his homecoming stuff away carefully. Dib took his own off, putting it on a small table next to the couch. Zim sat down on the couch and stretched.

      "Well, you can have the couch," he said, patting the cushions. "It's pretty comfortable."

      "It's cold in here, though," Dib said, rubbing his arms a little.

      "I'll get a blanket. Computer, blanket!" Computer hit Zim in the face with a thick blanket. Too tired to even yell at it for that, Zim shook it out and wrapped it around Dib. "There."

      Much more comfortable and warm now, Dib lay down on his side and used the arm rest as a pillow.

      Zim got up and started for the elevator, then changed his mind and laid down in front of Dib, putting his back against his front and pulling the blanket over himself.

      Smiling, Dib put his arms around the irken and pulled him closer, resting his chin on top of his head. The antennae brushed his face slightly and he exhaled on one. It twitched before both fell down limply, marking that their owner was completely at ease. A very rare event.

            Together like this, warm and content, they fell into deep, peaceful sleeps. Today had been wonderful.


End file.
